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Microsoft Corp. is working with the OPC Foundation to enable almost any IIoT scenario using interoperability between the millions of OPC UA-compliant applications and equipment. Microsoft will enable IIoT users to connect manufacturing equipment and software with extended support of OPC UA's open-source software stack. Microsoft’s extended support for OPC UA spans its IoT offerings from local connectivity with Windows devices to cloud connectivity via Microsoft Azure. Integration with Azure IoT allows customers to easily send OPC UA data to the Azure cloud, as well as command and control OPC UA devices remotely from the Azure cloud.
Pepperl+Fuchs broke ground June 2 on its new U.S. distribution and engineering center in Katy, Texas, near…

While routine build-up and clogging in process applications is annoying, process scaling is more persistent, causes unplanned downtime and increases costs in many industries. It's typically composed of calcium carbonate, wax, grease or similar…

Just as you can't have too many friends, level measurement applications can't get enough ease of use, reliability and safety. Thanks to increasing process industry needs and user demand for them, these are the three unifying priorities that drove…

Our panel of experts explore best practices for dealing with buildup on chemical seals of a differential pressure flowmeter.

Q: We have a venturi flowmeter with 3-in. flanged pressure taps and flanged chemical seals with capillary tubes in a 44-in. vertical pipe (Figure 1). The fluid is hydrocarbon (polymeric) gas. The problem is that the chemical seal diaphragms often…

A Control Design reader writes: We have several temperature, pressure and flow sensors on a new medical-device cleaning skid that we are developing. These instruments are connected to a PLC as 4-20 mA inputs, and there is also a 4-20 mA output used to control a pump motor speed. A recent failure of a flow sensor brought the process skid instrumentation to my company's quality manager's attention. He asked how we know that the temperatures, pressure and flow are accurate, and how do we know that we are cleaning properly.
I've been tasked to write a procedure for troubleshooting, calibrating and testing the 4-20 mA instruments on the skid. I can probably stumble through this, but what are some best practices for troubleshooting the analog…

Control's Monthly Resource Guide brings you the latest online resources on a variety of process control topics.

MULTI-PART WEIGHING
This four-section webpage by Omega Engineering covers "Weighing Applications," "Weighing System Design," "Installation and Calibration" and "Specialized Installations." The whole group is located at…

FOPDT model has demonstrated utility for controller tuning rules, for structuring decouplers and feedforward control algorithms.

A first-order plus deadtime (FOPDT) model is a simple approximation of the dynamic response (the transient or time-response) of a process variable to an influence. It’s also called first-order lag plus deadtime (FOLPDT), or “deadtime” may be…

'To the degree networks and standards can provide easy, consistent and seamless access to device-resident controls, the vision of truly distributed control may finally dawn upon us.'

Every compressor in the facility went down at once that day, when a PLC redundancy switchover didn’t transfer in time. The engineers didn’t know that each P453 remote I/O processor had a dip-switch-selectable timeout setting—if it didn’t…

A Control Design reader writes: We have several temperature, pressure and flow sensors on a new medical-device cleaning skid that we are developing. These instruments are connected to a PLC as 4-20 mA inputs, and there is also a 4-20 mA output used to control a pump motor speed. A recent failure of a flow sensor brought the process skid instrumentation to my company's quality manager's attention. He asked how we know that the temperatures, pressure and flow are accurate, and how do we know that we are cleaning properly.
I've been tasked to write a procedure for troubleshooting, calibrating and testing the 4-20 mA instruments on the skid. I can probably stumble through this, but what are some best practices for troubleshooting the analog…

Most public utilities deliver basic power and water, and God bless them for doing it. However, a few go beyond their essential missions, and seek to further enhance the overall well-being and prosperity of their communities.
One of these is…

Advanced control on fuel and steam can control emissions while saving millions.

It’s no secret that advanced process control (APC) has played a major role in the process industries for many decades. However, while many organizations focus only on major process units, there’s often an untapped opportunity to do more, and…

Our readers tell us who they think delivers the best technology in our industry

There's knowledge in our readers. That's why every year we ask our loyal audience to help us determine which automation service providers offer the best products and brands they can rely on to get the best combination of performance, ease of use,…

Just when it seems like today’s sophisticated motors and drives can’t possibly add more efficiencies and capabilities, engineers conjure up new tricks and refinements, followed by end users and system integrators who materialize new settings and…

Control's monthly guide brings you invaluable industry information to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments.

THE CLASSIC VALVE BOOK
The fourth edition of the 295-page classic text, "Control Valve Handbook," by Fisher Controls International and Emerson Process Management reports this classic text has been a primary reference since its first printing in1965.

Control's monthly guide brings you invaluable industry information to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments.

THE CLASSIC VALVE BOOK
The fourth edition of the 295-page classic text, "Control Valve Handbook," by Fisher Controls International and Emerson Process Management reports this classic text has been a primary reference since its first printing in1965.

Just when it seems like today’s sophisticated motors and drives can’t possibly add more efficiencies and capabilities, engineers conjure up new tricks and refinements, followed by end users and system integrators who materialize new settings and…

Actionable information is essential for the effectiveness of the 'loop,' as it is for closed-loop control and open-loop alarms.

When I sat down in my office this morning, I was greeted by the operations manager, who pointed out an entry from last night’s operations log: “Did you see? The boiler steam vent is in manual because the pressure reading whacked out and made the…

Actionable information is essential for the effectiveness of the 'loop,' as it is for closed-loop control and open-loop alarms.

When I sat down in my office this morning, I was greeted by the operations manager, who pointed out an entry from last night’s operations log: “Did you see? The boiler steam vent is in manual because the pressure reading whacked out and made the…

Actionable information is essential for the effectiveness of the 'loop,' as it is for closed-loop control and open-loop alarms.

When I sat down in my office this morning, I was greeted by the operations manager, who pointed out an entry from last night’s operations log: “Did you see? The boiler steam vent is in manual because the pressure reading whacked out and made the…

Our readers tell us who they think delivers the best technology in our industry

There's knowledge in our readers. That's why every year we ask our loyal audience to help us determine which automation service providers offer the best products and brands they can rely on to get the best combination of performance, ease of use,…

Visualizing and contextualizing safety data can have a positive impact on productivity and compliance.

"Information is one thing, but safety information is quite another," says George Schuster. He should know. He’s charged with business development for the Global Safety Team of Rockwell Automation and has seen many plants and factories begin to…

How to deal with the constraints of putting access points in hazardous areas.

In an ideal world, it wouldn’t be necessary to worry about explosive atmospheres. Unfortunately, plant environments are far from ideal, with most process plants being about 80% Class I, Div. 2 (Zone 2) and another 10% Class I Div. 1 (Zone 1), so…

Key is to learn as much as possible to make digital technologies safe, secure and successful in process settings.

As usual, and I’m sure this is true for many of you, this year’s autumn season has been a frantic dash of work, deadlines, sleep deprivation, indigestion and suspiciously arthritic stiffness. In my case, this means covering all sides of the…

With today’s network technology, even Ethernet and wireless are almost always fast enough.

As automation professionals, one issue we have about control loops is ensuring we're able to support real-time control. Historically, when Ethernet was 10 MB/s and there were multiple drops on a single port, collisions were a significant concern and…

With today’s network technology, even Ethernet and wireless are almost always fast enough.

As automation professionals, one issue we have about control loops is ensuring we're able to support real-time control. Historically, when Ethernet was 10 MB/s and there were multiple drops on a single port, collisions were a significant concern and…

Because they're the crossroads, nexus and Grand Central Station for sensor signals and data arriving and requests and actuation instructions departing, it's a big help that I/O and terminal blocks are more flexible and capable than ever.

Compact, Remote I/O for Zone 2/Div 2
LB System remote I/O has more power in less space with high-performance, compact modules plugged into a backplane. Energy-saving power management and low-power dissipation allow maximum packing density. With the…

Be just 33 seconds more productive each hour, and the savings mount quickly.

Rockwell Automation previewed its new, forward-looking App Platform for mobility at this week’s TechED conference in Orlando. While focused first on redefining smartphone use on the plant floor – with the aim of making individual workers more…

Control’s latest State of Technology report delves into the many aspects of power systems of interest in process plants.

From sourcing and ensuring uninterrupted flows of clean electricity to monitoring, regulating and metering generation and consumption throughout a facility, process automation professionals who want a smooth-running, efficient and reliable facility are well advised to seek and control power.
This anthology of recent articles delves into the many aspects of power systems of interest in process plants. Remote and wireless systems are speeding development and standardization of energy harvesting and improved battery systems.
Line-powered supplies that used to only transform electricity and maybe offer surge protection are now monitoring and measuring current and voltage profiles, implementing alerts and alarms, and sending data up to…

Greg: Here we take advantage of the chance to talk to Bill Thomas, who provides a great lesson of how to succeed in advancing capabilities and opportunities in his career and the control systems for which he was responsible. His career and the…

Control's monthly guide brings you invaluable industry information to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments.

AT THEIR BEST, ALL THE TIME
ExperTune’s white paper, “How to Improve Performance of Process Control Assets,” by George Buckbee, P.E., describes the practice of real-time asset performance management, shows how to get assets to perform at their best all the time, and demonstrates the value of integrating these tools for a performance picture that delivers financial results. It’s available here.
ISA / www.isa.org
ANALYZING, PREDICTING PROBLEMS
This 57-minute video, “Avoid Equipment Surprises: Predictive Diagnostics for Oil & Gas,” is presented by Joe Dupree, GE Automation and Controls, and users from NiSource Gas and Alyeska. They demonstrate condition-based monitoring, predictive analytics and other tools for evaluating…

Steve Christian remembers the days—not too long ago—when production schedules were printed on sheets of paper and distributed to operators at his plant, who would manually twist valve handles to send the Ragu sauce tomato slurry from one kettle…

Advanced control on fuel and steam can control emissions while saving millions.

It’s no secret that advanced process control (APC) has played a major role in the process industries for many decades. However, while many organizations focus only on major process units, there’s often an untapped opportunity to do more, and…

Find and slay the dragons lurking in the typical safety instrumented system.

Cybersecurity is a growing concern in the process industries, and a number of good articles have been written about it for industrial control systems (ICS)—many full of doom and gloom. Here, we will divide the ICS into two parts: safety…

Big data can only help users if they understand what it is, how it can affect their controls and processes, and how they can use it to optimize operations.

Similar to any new technology emerging on the process control front, big data can only help users make better decisions if they understand what it is, how it can affect their controls and processes, and how they can use it to optimize operations.

Our readers tell us who they think delivers the best technology in our industry

There's knowledge in our readers. That's why every year we ask our loyal audience to help us determine which automation service providers offer the best products and brands they can rely on to get the best combination of performance, ease of use,…

A new family of products is aimed at giving its users an easy transition from the existing serial RS-232 connections to the wide open Industrial Ethernet world of Modbus TCP and EtherNet/IP.

he number of industrial applications that use Ethernetas a basis for their design is indisputably growing. Ethernet offers the familiar ring of the office world and the ability to connect to computers and devices worldwide through the Internet. Now that more and more companies are deciding to gather and analyze factory floor data to help make high-level decisions, Ethernet makes sense as the foundation on which to transmit that data. Industrial Ethernet is a phrase that is being used to describe industrial versions of the Ethernet products that have to survive in an industrial environment.

In the language of Ethernet there are the important higher-level protocols such as TCP/IP and UDP, which are the basis for the industrial protocols. Modbus RTU/ASCII, DeviceNet and Profibus have been the primary, serial-based industrial networks in the factory over the past five years. To keep up with the traction that Industrial Ethernet has gained, each of these networks has its own Ethernet version, namely Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP and Profinet, respectively.

A new family of products from Grid Connect is aimed at giving its users an easy transition from the existing serial RS-232 connections to the wide open Industrial Ethernet world of Modbus TCP and EtherNet/IP. A Profinet version will follow later in the year.

Net232-MB and Net232-EIP allow users to connect their legacy industrial machines or other devices such as barcode readers, scales and printers to the network and communicate using the new Industrial Ethernet protocols. The Net232 provides the user the ability to view the status and operation of the attached device using a web browser from any local PC or PC connected to the Internet. Special features could include e-mail for event notification and the ability to program vendor-specific information to provide a complete control interface to the attached machine or device.

The Net232 features a serial cable with a DB9 connector and an RJ45 Ethernet port to directly attach the industrial machine or device to the network. Configuration software is included that allows for customization of parameters and mapping of data between the serial and Ethernet sides of the device.

The Net232 family of devices allows a user to connect their industrial device to the Ethernet network and to the Internet in less than 30 minutes, claims Mike Justice, president of Grid Connect. Many customers have taken the 30-minute challenge and come away amazed that they now can get worldwide access to their equipment in such a short period of time.

According to Grid Connect, a large industrial-scale company found that providing Ethernet protocols as an option for its products modernized its offerings and allowed users to network and gain access to the weight, calibration and complex tables remotely; this has increased the life span and value of the scale.

Prior to the Net232 products, users would have to purchase new equipment with the updated hardware and software that provided the Ethernet communication link, says Justice. With Net232, the user can upgrade or offer Ethernet as an option without changing the existing their equipment.

The Grid Connect folks say the Modbus TCP version is the most popular because of Modbus popularity in all industrial and process industries. But the Ethernet/IP version also is hot because of Rockwell Automations extensive push for its use in all new applications, adds Justice.

Additional Net232 product features include basic serial tunneling and a web server. The devices support serial baud rates between 300-920 Kbps and support 10/100 Mbps Ethernet. The company says a wireless version of the Net232, called the WI232, will be available by summer.

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